The Postal History of Andorra (Part 3)

By D. W. Tanner

Andorran Sovereignty and the Postal Problem

The long delay on the part of Spain in introducing a proper postal
service in Andorra undoubtedly arose not from negligence or because the
postal needs of the five or six thousand inhabitants of that undeveloped
country were small, but due to problems arising from the complex nature
of the sovereignty of Andorra. Despite the allocation of Andorra to
Spain by the Postal Union Convention, Spain in actual fact possessed no
rights whatsoever in the Principality, the sovereignty pertaining
jointly to the Bishop of Urgel and the President of France. This dual
nature of the sovereignty has always created problems, each co-sovereign
(or "Co-Prince") closely watching the other to ensure that no
encroachment on his own rights occurs as the result of action taken by
his counterpart. On the French side it is argued that, as the French
Co-prince becomes holder of this office by virtue of his election to the
French Presidency, then the sovereignty extends to the French State
which consequently possesses rights in Andorra. On the Spanish side,
however no such argument can be sustained as the Bishops are appointed
not by the Spanish State but by the Pope, thus even if there is an
extension of the sovereignty beyond the Co-Princes to those by whom they
are elected or appointed then here it clearly extends not to Spain but
to the Vatican. That Spain possessed no rights in Andorra was, in fact,
politely pointed out to the Spanish Government by the Bishop of Urgel
shortly after the postal service commenced, as will be recorded here
later.

The whole question of the Andorran Posts was thus an intricate one.
As a non-independant territory Andorra itself was considered unable to
conclude the necessary international agreements for the introduction of
a full postal service, neither was it able to become a member of the
Universal Postal Union in its own right. Spain lacked
the necessary sovereign rights which were vested in the Bishop who,
however, possessed no international "postal power". And France,
while considering that she possessed every sovereign right to introduce
a postal service in her small neighbour was faced with the fact that
under the U.P.U. Convention, to which she was a signatory, Andorra was
Spanish postal territory. For these reasons the problem of the postal
service was left unattended for so many years, the various interested
parties hesitating to take any steps in the matter until the energetic
intervention of a complete outsider, a Swiss subject,
Friedrich Weilemann, so forced the hands of all
concerned that within the space of three and a half years Andorra found
itself provided with two distinct postal services.

The fact that Andorra was peculiar among European nations in that it
lacked its own postage stamps had, on several occasions, attracted the
attention of private individuals residing far from its frontiers who had
then approached either the General Council or the Bishop of Urgel in an
attempt to obtain contracts for the printing of suitable stamps, or some
similar concession. All such attempts had failed, and if they ever came
to the notice of the authorities in Paris or Madrid they aroused little
or no interest. But then, none of the would-be concessionaries had ever
pursued the matter to such lengths, or displayed such energy,
persistence and thoroughness as the German-Swiss from Zurich, who
arrived on the Andorran scene in the mid-l920s with a number of
proposals. These embraced not only a postal concession but also such
matters as the building of a hospital, new schools, road construction,
public transport services and agricultural reforms, part of the funds
for which would be provided from the revenue accruing from his proposed
postal organisation.

In a book "Die Vahrheit uber die Pyrenaenrepublik Andorra" which
he himself published in 1939, Herr Weilenmann tells us that his interest
in Andorra was first aroused in the year 1922 when he met some Andorran
stock breeders at a Swiss cattle fair and it is evident that from this
time onwards the small "Switzerland" in the Pyrenees, of which he
was eventually created an Honorary Citizen, became his major
preoccupation, for as late as 1936, some months after the outbreak of
the Spanish Civil War, there were reports linking
his name with an attempt to make Andorra independent of the Co-princes
and with a monopoly for the sale of postage stamps if independence was
attained. (1)

Having delved deeply into matters pertaining to Andorra and visited the
country in 1925-26 to study it at first hand, Weilenmann began to
formulate his plans. That he thoroughly prepared his groundwork is
evidenced by the fact that in Berne he first consulted the U.P.U.
headquarters before embarking on his schemes and also obtained letters
of introduction from Swiss diplomatic sources to ensure his reception in
official circles in Spain and France. His scheme was that the Co-Princes
should consent to the granting of a postal monopoly to the
General Council of Andorra, and that he would then
enter into a contract with the Council as its technical adviser in order
to organise the postal service on the Council's behalf. He planned to
divide the country into six postal districts corresponding to the six
parishes, to bring in Swiss postal experts to train the necessary staff
and provide advice, to open post offices where necessary and, in
general, to introduce a postal system based on that of Switzerland
which would comply fully with the requirements of the U.P.U. and the
needs of Andorra. With regard to stamps, in addition to regular issues
he proposed a number of commemoratives and sets with a surcharge on the
lines of the Swiss "Pro Juventute" charity series in order to
increase further the funds available for school buildings and similar
projects.

The General Council of Andorra having promised its support, Weilenmann
now attempted to obtain the consent of the Bishop of Urgel and the
authorities in Paris and Madrid, and there began a vigorous round of
negotiations which, for the first time in many long years, brought the
half forgotten question of the Andorran Posts into the full light of
official scrutiny at a high levels. In Paris Weilenmann engaged as his
interpreter the consultant lawyer of the Swiss Legation, Jacques de
Pury, and from a report drawn up by the latter covering the negotiations
in the summer of 1927 it is evident that the proposals had caused
something of a flurry in French official circles, a committee having
been set up to deal with the matters and various sections of the French
Foreign Ministry being involved as well as the Ministry of Posts and the
French Delegate for Andorra. Hampered by the U.P.U. Convention's
allocation of Andorra to Spain the French authorities appear to have
been put to some difficulty but nonetheless gave it as their intention
to resume the negotiations in the autumn of 1927. In the meantime,
however, the authorities in Madrid, who had also been approached by
Weilenmann and were well aware that endless complications were likely to
arise with the French if some prompt action were not taken, decided to
resolve matters in their own way and, by a
Ministerial Decree dated 31st October 1927, created the Spanish Postal
Administration of Andorra la Vella, empowering it to take all steps
necessary to introduce a full postal service in the country.

Weilenmann however, was not to make his exit for a long time yet as the
General Council of Andorra, dismayed by the Spanish action and seeing
their country deprived forever of the much desired postal revenue, for a
number of years attempted by various means to have the stipulations of
the Postal Union Convention annulled. At first the Council adopted the
age-old Andorran tactic of playing off their two neighbour states one
against the other and protested to the French about the Spanish seizure
of the posts. As this only resulted in the French having the Convention
amended at the Postal Union Congress held in London in 1929 so that
France also could operate a postal service in Andorra, the General
Council then tried through Weilenmann to have the relevant article
declared void. An authority of the Council dated 21st September 1931 -
i.e. within three months of the commencement of the French postal
service - empowered Weilenmann to intervene through the Swiss Political
Department and the General Secretariat of the U.P.U. in Berne to have
the clause annulled on the grounds that neither the Spanish nor the
French delegation at the London Congress possessed either the right to
handle the matter or had been authorised by the General Council to do
so. And again, on 25th February 1933, one day after it had created
Weilenmann an Honorary Citizen of Andorra, the Council issued a similar
authorisation, that he should "take all measures necessary with the
relevant Governments and Authorities so that the Republic* of Andorra
may, as an autonomous member form part of the Universal Postal
Union." Such "authorisations", however, lacked any validity
under International Law as the sovereignty pertained to the Co-Princes,
not to the General Council, and despite every effort Weilenmann was
unable to obtain the intervention of the competent authorities in the
matter. A number of contracts were also drawn up between the General
Council and Weilenmann relating to the issue of postage stamps, but
these likewise were considered invalid in the absence of the consent of
the Co-Princes.

It has been stated that a series of stamps intended for issue if Andorra
achieved sufficient independence to handle its own posts was at one time
in the possession of Herrn. Weilenmann.(2) However no examples appear to
have been circulated on the philatelic market, and no essays or
unrecorded stamps were found by the solicitor who made the inventory of
Weilenmann's effects following his death on 23rd April 1953.**

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* Concerning the use in official documents of the title
"Republica de Andorra", it was partly the independent attitude
of the General Council of this period which led to its dissolution by
the Co-Princes on 10th June 1933 and to the
occupation of Andorra by a force of French gendarmes on the 18th August.
As a last gesture of defiance a section of the Council, presided over by
the deposed President and Vice-President, met in exile in Barcelona on
28th August 1933 and handed a final document to Weilenmann conferring
on him general powers to act as its plenipotentiary representative and
intervene at the League of Nations against the occupation of Andorra by
the French forces.

** This date is certified by the "Office d'Etat Civile", Zurich,
hence there appears to be a misprint in the quoted Philatelic Magazine
article where the year of its writer's visit to Weilenmann is shown as
1954.

Spanish Preparations

The Spanish Postal Administration of Andorra having been created by a
decree dated 31st October 1927 of the
Spanish Postal Directorate in Madrid, preparations for the introduction
of the postal service now proceeded with some haste, the initial
ministerial decree being followed by two Royal Decrees, dated 18th and
30th November 1927, providing for the establishment of various postal
duties and services in Andorra. On 1st January 1928 post offices were
opened throughout the principality and the postal service was officially
inaugurated. By some omission the Bishop of Urgel, the Co-sovereign, was
not consulted until after the initial moves had been made, as in the
book "Instituciones politicas y sociales de Andorra" one finds
the following:-

"About November 1927 the Marquis of Estella, Minister of State,
informed the Bishop of Urgel that the reorganisation of the postal
service would be rapidly proceeded with on the basis of a memorandum
presented by a Spanish official who had studied the matter. It appears
that the Bishop was displeased because the preparations had ostensibly
commenced without his consent having been requested and moreover the
General Council was silently opposed to the Spanish undertaking: this
motivated a communication from the Marquis of Estella in December 1927
requesting the collaboration and assistance of the Bishop and the
General Council in order that the organisation of the post could be
brought to completion."

Viewed in retrospect, this "oversight" on the part of the Spanish
authorities, by which the Prince-Bishop was notified only after the
preparations had been commenced, seems to have been an astute move rather
than a mere error. The Bishops of Urgel, in their capacity as Co-Princes
of Andorra, are normally reluctant to make any unilateral decisions with
regard to matters outside their ecclesiastical sphere, and when
decisions not connected with the ecclesiastical part of their authority
are required these are usually taken only after consultation with the
delegate of the French Co-Prince. Had Spain first consulted the Bishop
for his formal consent to the undertaking of the postal duties Andorra,
this would have placed him in an awkward position; his unilateral
consent could have led to difficulties with the French authorities while
any approach to the latter would equally have placed him in an
embarrassing situation with the Spanish government. Faced with the
fait accompli, however, the Bishop would be spared any
difficulties which might arise with the French, who would now have to
deal direct with the authorities in Madrid if they wished to make any
representations or protest. Spain could, perhaps, also have argued that
technically she did possess some Authority to undertake the postal
service by virtue of the U.P.U. Convention, on the grounds that this
could only have assigned Andorra to Spain in the first place with the
consent of the two Co-Princes of that period. That such consent was ever
thought about, let alone obtained, when the original lists were compiled
is doubtful but in any event Spain certainly had a stronger case than
did France which, while operating a postal service into Andorra
throughout the years had nonetheless signed all the subsequent
Conventions, such as those of Rome 1906, and Stockholm 1924, which
continued to allocate Andorra to Spain alone.

Continuing with the correspondence between the Bishop of Urgel and the
Marquis of Estella, one finds the Bishop taking a cautious attitude in
attempting to establish the precise basis on which the Spanish
undertaking stood, at the same time making the point that it was not
regarded as a right:-

"On the 26th January 1928 the Bishop of Urgel acknowledged receipt
of the list of Postal staff provisionally named, and affirmed it as
being his criterion that the undertaking of the postal service by Spain
was not a right of the Spanish State but a favour conferred on Spain by
Andorra.

In the month of April the Marquis expressed his satisfaction to the
Bishop and concurred with the criterion of the prelate; he deemed, in
agreement with the Bishop, that it is Andorra which grants a favour to
Spain in permitting that she organises and undertakes the postal
service in the Valleys, and that the Spanish government possesses no
rights in the small country, but the postal service will contribute to
the maintenance of those favourable reputations to which His Most
Reverend Excellency refers; the Marquis concluded with his
felicitations on the happy interchange of opinions."

The coincidence of opinion so happily reached by the Bishop and the
Marquis of Estella was, alas, not shared by the General Council of
Andorra. Far from viewing the postal service now operating in their
midst as a token of a favour conferred on Spain by Andorra, ths Council
saw it as a downright usurpation of Andorran rights, and lodged a
protest with the French authorities in Perpignan. The "Echo de la
Timbrologie" dated 31st May 1928 reported as follows:-

"The Andorrans, it seems, do not look favourably on the seizure by
Spain of their postal services, and their protests have found an
official echo in a resolution passed by the Council of the Valleys.
Following this resolution, the First Sindic of Andorra betook himself to
Perpignan in the company of another official with the aim of protesting
energetically to the Prefect of Pyrenees-Orientales, who is the
competent representative of France for Andorra, against the Spanish
interventions in which the Valley of Andorra sees an outrage against its
rights and independence. The Sindic added that Andorra feels itself
perfectly capable of organising its own postal services, of issuing
stamps, and collecting the money, without the help of anybody. The
Prefect, following the classical formula, promised the Andorran
representatives that he would take up their wishes with the French
government."

What steps were taken by France following this protest, or whether
indeed the General Council was ever subsequently consulted in the matter
in view of the French attitude to Andorra itself dealing with such
affairs, we do not know as the ensuing correspondence between France and
Spain remains a secret of government archives. Even the Bishop of Urgel
appears not to have been informed of the negotiations which took place
between France and Spain at this period, as from a letter which he wrote
to Weilenmann several months later it seems that he was under the
impression that the matter of the post was completely settled. This
letter, dated 1st March 1929, also succinctly stated the French attitude
to Andorra handling any affairs, such as the postal service, where
international considerations were involved:

"Various official duties have prevented me from replying to your
favour of the 24th January. The matter of the Post of Andorra is
resolved and concluded. The Spanish government has organised this
postal service for the satisfaction of the Valleys and is operating the
same. Nobody will now have the intention of conferring this service to
a third party as a government monopoly. The representation of Andorra
at international conferences inasmuch that Andorra itself deals
independently in the international sphere, will always be opposed by
France since France does not award any international personality to
this small country." (3)

Far from being resolved and concluded, the affair of Andorra's postal
services was on the point of being raised at the highest possible
levels, at the Universal Postal Union Congress held in London three
months later, in June 1929, when at the request of France and with the
agreement of Spain, the relevant article of the Convention was amended:

"After reiterated negotiations between the two countries, the
Congress of London of 1929 accepted an important modification of the
relevant article of the Universal Postal Convention, which now reads:-

"The following are considered as belonging to the Universal Postal
Union:

(d) ......
(e) The Valleys of Andorra, as served by the Postal Administrations of
Spain and France....." (4)

Thus, from considerations of political prestige, the ground was prepared
for a second postal organisation to come into being in this small
country.

That the Bishop of Urgel had still not been informed of
the Franco-Spanish negotiations even at this stage is evidenced by
another letter quoted by Weilenmann, from which it also appears that the
Bishop, in the absence of information as to the French view, had until
this time been careful not to express his official recognition of the
Spanish postal service even though it had been operating for some
eighteen months. The letter from the Bishop is dated 17th July 1929:

"I have to acknowledge your esteemed favour of the 4th instant. As
you report therein - and I did not know it - the French government has
expressively recognised the Postal service conducted by Spain in
Andorra, and has applied to this recognition only one stipulation,
namely the stipuation that I myself am in agreement with this
recognition."

As I express this recognition as Co-Prince of Andorra, I can undertake
nothing contrary to this agreement.

In that which concerns the issuance of commemorative stamps, which you
request me in a petition to recommend I have done all that I could do
in your favour in the present situation by the certificate I sent to
you in April.

Any further action or recommendation would place me in great difficulty
with the Spanish and French governments, which I must at all costs
avoid.

The "expressive recognition" by the French government of the
Spanish postal service being contained in the amended Postal Convention
signed on 28th June 1929, it would seem, in view of his statement
"I did not know it", that the Bishop first learned of the
amendement from Weilenmann's letter of the 4th July, the contents of
which are not stated in the book, but the Bishop had evidently been
officially brought back into the picture by the date of his reply.

Pursuant to the amendment of the Postal Union Convention a
Hispano-French agreement concerning postal
relations with Andorra was signed on 30th June 1930, and in the
following year the French Postal Service was inaugurated.